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Tristan sighed. “You got shot, man. You’ve been in a medically-induced coma for two days to give your wound time to heal.”
Langston felt a sudden surge of emotion, and he clutched at the bedsheets. His memory of the last few days slowly came flooding back. He recalled facing the men from the video…a gunfight happened…then everything went black.
“Where’s Lisa?” he asked, panic rising in his chest. “Where is she?” He urgently tried to sit up again, fighting against the excruciating pain.
Tristan sucked in a breath. “She was taken. And I’m afraid that’s not the worst of it.”
Langston’s gut tightened. “What the fuck do you mean? Is she alive, Tristan?” He grabbed Tristan’s arm. “Tell me she’s alive!”
“Brother, I don’t know if she’s alive, but the last message we received from the kidnappers assured us she was.”
Langston’s eyes were glued to Tristan, wild and angry like a madman.
“That’s not the worst part I’m talking about.”
“What the fuck is it?”
Langston held his breath.
“They took Destiny.”
Confusion filled Langston’s face.
“I’m only guessing they took her because they knew you two were involved and don’t know the true nature of your relationship.” Tristan sighed. “They also have Mom.”
The horrific news hit Langston like a punch to the gut. He felt a sudden rage boiling inside him, and simultaneously, his heart sank. He fought to get out of bed, but Tristan pushed him back down. “You need to rest. You just had surgery.”
“I don’t care about that. I need to find them!” His voice rose in desperation.
Tristan’s expression hardened. “You need to heal first. You won’t be able to do anything for any of them if you’re in a hospital bed.”
“I don’t have time for this,” Langston said, his frustration mounting. “I need to get out of here.”
Tristan’s voice was firm. “No, Langston. You need to stay put and get better. The doctors said you’re not supposed to move around too much.”
Langston clenched his fists, his anger boiling over. “I can’t just lay here and do nothing! They’re out there somewhere—my girlfriend, my mother!”
“She’s my mother, too!” Anger rolled off Tristan. “Do you think we haven’t put every resource at our disposal into finding her?! Finding them?” Tristan shook his head. “I know you’re scared. But you won’t do them any good if you’re unhealthy. You need to take care of yourself first!”
Langston glared at his brother, but eventually relented. He knew Tristan was right, but sitting there and doing nothing was hard. He dropped back down on the bed, his mind racing with thoughts of their whereabouts.
“When I find them...”
“I know. And I’ll be right there with you to help do the things you’re thinking.”
They eyed each other, a silent acceptance of the road ahead of them.
“First, family, you need to rest. Because when it comes time, I will need you at your best to pull this shit off and get everyone back alive.”
Langston’s frustration slowly subsided. He felt exhausted and drained, his anger replaced by a deep sadness. He closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind, focusing on his brother’s reassurance.
“We’ll find them,” Tristan said softly. “I promise.”
Langston nodded, feeling too tired and emotionally drained to speak. He allowed himself to drift off into a fitful sleep, the beeping of the medical machines following him into the darkness.
* * *
Langston peered intentlyat the computer screen, studying the video closely. He rewound the footage and paused, searching for the source of the strange symbols he had seen in the bottom right-hand corner.
